After releasing a couple of independent live albums, along with their previous two studio albums starting out under the “Inspirations Records” umbrella, this is the first purely Canaan release for the Inspirations in 2 years. With the sudden passing of Marvin Norcross in 1980, there may have been some uncertainty at the label, along with whether or not the Inspirations had a place there, but whatever transpired over the past 2 years, it appears Canaan and the Inspirations were on the same page. Upon Marvin’s passing, Ken Harding began overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Canaan label. Marvin had brought Ken on board during the mid-70’s, and he brought some new, creative ideas to the label, producing such artists as the Cruse Family, Teddy Huffam & the Gems, Rex Nelon Singers and others for the label. In 1981, Ken brought on board Andy Tolbird, who started in the music industry by playing bass with the Deweys, Jake Hess Sound, JD Sumner & the Stamps and Rambos. Andy would act as A & R Director for the label, playing a vital role in the entire recording process from start to finish, from recording, art direction, song selection, etc. for many of the Canaan artists such as the Goodmans, Tanya Goodman (as a soloist), Talleys, NewSong and Inspirations. Between 1982 and 1987, Andy would act as “Executive Producer” for all the Inspirations’ albums, with Martin Cook remaining at the helm as producer, maintaining a wonderful working relationship with Martin during this time.

Naturally, Martin Cook produced “Someday”, and with Roger and Dale gone, this would be the first album by the Inspirations in about 6 years, where no one in the group played on the album! Recorded at Mark V Studios, they mostly employed the usual musicians utilized by the studio, which included Otis Forrest on piano, Harold Huffman playing bass, Bill Huffman on rhythm guitar and Russell Mauldin playing the drums (which Martin typically would mix out the drums into the background). They also brought in Bobby All to play the electric guitar, along with Russell Easter, Jr. on the steel guitar/dobro, who added tremendously to the overall sound of this album. Both gentlemen played many sessions at Granite City Studios in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, as well as Tri State Recording Studios in Kingsport, Tennessee. With the cover shot taken at a park near the Nashville/Lebanon, Tennessee area, I always liked the cover shot and artwork for this album.

The album kicks off with the now classic, “They’re Holding Up the Ladder”, which was written by the Easter Brothers (Russell, James & Ed). The song was a big hit for the Inspirations, peaking at the #2 position in the Singing News chart for 3 months in a row in December 1982 as well as for January and February 1983. The song was originally recorded by the Easter Brothers in 1980, but probably their most iconic version (at least in my opinion) was on their 1983, self-titled album, that was released on the Lifeline/Benson label, which is also my favorite performance of the song. The Inspirations performed at several concerts with the Easter Brothers, and Martin, always keeping a keen eye and ear out on new music for the group, was a huge fan of the song and wanted the Inspirations to record it. It was Martin’s idea for the piano intro giving the feel of a cat climbing up a ladder, and Otis Forrest delivered the iconic piano work flawlessly, and it just adds to the excitement of this fun tune. Since the album was released in time for the 1982 Singing in the Smokies, Archie took to climbing a ladder while the Inspirations performed the song during their performance that year, as a promotional gimmick for the song! Much like “Is That Footsteps That I Hear”, this was a mainstay in the Inspirations performance repertoire for 35 years, and it was also a hugely popular song amongst other groups, as it was sung and recorded around this time by such groups as the Hoppers, Lewis Family, Dixie Melody Boys, Segos & Naomi and Lesters. Additionally, the Inspirations re-recorded the song several years later, on their 2003 recording, “The Journey Ahead”.

With a bit of a country/blues feel, and featuring some classic Floyd Kramer piano work, Troy sings the comforting, “For Every Valley, There’s a Lily”, which was written by Rev. Sonny Holland, who was a pastor, singer, songwriter and evangelist for 60+ years. The song ranks as one of my personal favorite Troy features, and I love the exceptional piano work as well as the nice dobro fills throughout the song.

Colbert & Joyce Croft contributed the medium tempo, “I Sure Do Want to Go”, which features Jack, along with Archie taking the lead on the final choruses. The song has some nice steel guitar highlights, leading perfectly into the sentimental feel of the song, “I’ll Be Home Before Dark”. With Jack taking the melody on the verses, and Archie taking the lead on the chorus, the song was written by Charles Wycuff, who was a songwriter and preacher in the Church of God denomination from South Carolina, who also wrote a few classic songs by the Happy Goodmans including “What a Lovely Name” and “I’m Too Near Home”. Many fans of the Inspirations related so well to this song, and though it wasn’t a huge charting hit for the group, eventually cresting at #13 in the April and May Singing News chart, it was a big concert favorite for the group. Naomi & the Segos recorded the song in 1982 as well, on their “Keeping it Gospel” album, and it was a popular song for her, as the song fit Naomi to a “T”. I love both versions of the song, and felt the song fit each group’s sound and style perfectly.

The fun title song, “Someday”, which was written by Roger Horne, finishes out the first side on an upbeat note. If you notice, the actual song title is missing from the list of songs on the back-cover, and Executive Producer, Andy Tolbird, admits the error slipped past him, and to his knowledge, the error was never corrected, and all pressings of the album has the song missing from the back cover. The song pretty much laid dormant for nearly 10 years until it was recorded by Gold City on their 1991 recording, “Answer the Call”, but re-titled, “We Shall See Heaven Someday”. It’s neat contrasting the 2 versions as the Inspirations version is a bit bouncier in tempo than Gold City’s more laid-back approach to the song, and as much as I loved the Inspirations original performance, I have always loved Gold City’s version, and probably prefer Gold City’s rendition over the Inspiration’s.

One of my favorite Archie features is the heart rendering ballad, “Please Don’t Tell My Daddy”, which was another song written by the Easter Brothers, who recorded the song in 1982 as well, on their album,
“Almost Home”. The Inspirations recorded several “mama” songs over the years, but they also recorded a few “daddy” songs as well, and I think this was the best “daddy” song the group recorded, and the emotional story in song will no doubt pull on your heartstrings!

Up next, we come to the sentimental tune entitled, “Bring Back the Songs”, which was written by a gentleman from Georgia named, Harold McWhorter. Troy takes the lead on this song, harkening the good old days, as well as many of the popular hymns from days gone by including, “Revive Us Again”, “The Solid Rock”, “Blessed Assurance”, “The Ninety and Nine”, “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be”, “I’ll Fly Away” and others.

Picking up the tempo, we come to the bouncy, “He’s Not Getting Ready to Come (He’s Already on His Way)”, which features Archie. Written by Sheryl Bean (daughter of Ruben and Peg of the McKameys), the McKameys originally recorded it on their 1981 album, “He Didn’t Let Us Down”, and the song was actually one of the very first radio singles for the McKameys after signing with the Eddie Crook Company! The song fit the Inspirations like a glove and is a highlight of the album, as is the following song, “Call Out My Name”, which features Troy. Written by Squire Parsons (who recorded the song on his 1982 solo album, “Gospel Selections”), the song features the beautiful and mournful strains of the steel guitar, giving the musical illusion of a person crying out someone’s name in prayer.

The Inspirations were always known for singing songs with a strong sentimental point of view, and the album closes out with such a song entitled, “Just One More Time”. Featuring Archie on the verses and Mike singing step-out lines on the chorus, the song has a convention feel to it and rounds out the album with a warm sentimentality. Funny story about the song…the Inspirations had just finished singing a different song, and Martin called out “Just One More Time”, and Myron yelled out to the guys “Just One More Time”, and they thought Martin wanted an encore of the song they just finished, but didn’t catch the intro and they struck off with an encore of the previous song, unbeknownst to the group that Martin had actually called out the song, “Just One More Time”! After the encore, Myron tried his best to shout out that Martin wanted the actual song, not an encore of the previous one, but it was hard to communicate over the loud applause.

One unique aspect about this album is that no songs were published by the Inspirations, except for the last song, “Just One More Time”, which has the arrangement published by the group, but not the song itself. There also aren’t any songs from the Stamps or Stamps-Baxter catalog either, which was unusual as well. Overall, “Someday” was a very good album, and one thing I loved most is the steel guitar work by Russell Easter, Jr. I love the sound and feel of a steel guitar, and Easter’s artistry truly made the overall sound of this album unique and exceptional.

“Someday” was one of the albums I bought through the Canaan Record & Tape Club, and the album was my introduction to the latest changes in the Inspirations, as I immediately noticed Roger and Dale were gone, and there was a new guy in the group! As mentioned in my last article, Roger and Dale had both departed the Inspirations by fall of 1981, and just prior to Roger and Dale’s departure, Martin’s son, Myron, had begun playing the upright bass for the Inspirations. For the remainder of the 80’s and into a good portion of the 90’s, the Inspirations band would consist solely of Martin at the piano and Myron playing upright bass. Though the “band” as we knew it in the 70’s would be gone, with Martin pounding away at the piano and Myron providing rhythm on the bass, the Inspirations would still be belting out that exciting and identifiable sound every night on concert stages across America!

Though the Inspirations would enjoy several more “hit” songs throughout the 80’s, they weren’t hitting the top of the charts like they once were, and they were okay with that. Nonetheless, 1982 saw Archie Watkins take home the “Favorite Tenor” award during the Singing News Fan Awards, which would be the last fan award they would win for the next 20 years. Though the musical landscape was evolving, the Inspirations continued to stick with a formula and sound that worked for them, and their people loved them for it. In a world of constant change, there was one thing that was consistent, and that was…and has always been…the Inspirations!

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